arXiv:cond-mat/0112206 · Physical review. B, Condensed matter
Quantum phase transition in coupled spin ladders
Luca Capriotti, Federico Becca
Abstract
The ground state of an array of coupled, spin-$\frac{1}{2},$ antiferromagnetic ladders is studied using spin-wave theory, exact diagonalization (up to 36 sites), and quantum Monte Carlo techniques (up to 256 sites). Our results clearly indicate the occurrence of a zero-temperature phase transition between a N\'eel ordered and a nonmagnetic phase at a finite value of the interladder coupling $({\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{c}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.3).$ This transition is marked by remarkable changes in the structure of the excitation spectrum.